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Artist Statement

All I know has been grounded in farming and religion.  Farming built me. Religion holds me up.  I visually explore these two important aspects of my life through the media of chalk pastel drawings.  These drawings are what I see, what I think, and most importantly what I  feel.  I see the real and the messy.  I see the colors, the emotions, the sublime, and the good God has created in everything.  My illustrations are about making connections.  It is the connection between family and the connection between nature and man that define me. These relationships are tied to the core of our understanding, emotions, and memories.

My drawings are meant for people to feel something and trigger a memory.  I want them to reflect and think, to provoke thought.​

My chalk pastel drawings are accessible for everyone as my intent is that every viewer, regardless of their background, can relate to my pieces in someway.  While they relate to the history of art and the artists who have come before me, they are universal in their meaning as well.  I am pleased that my father, a farmer, can appreciate the drawings in the same way that another human being with a vastly different background, such as a doctor, teacher, or artist can appreciate them. 

Christian Vandehaar

Farmboystudio.com

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